getting back in to drabbles is fun, esp. with new characters :)

tagging @cyclopsss and @petersgoggles bc they asked!<3

jonathan byers + things you said at one a.m.

Jonathan Byers and Will Byers are — were — inseparable. Within the week that Will had gone missing, been pronounced dead — it was inevitable for the crippling emotions to take a toll on your best friend.

Between the funeral and Joyce, Jonathan has felt like a big, giant void has been shoved down his throat. And as his friend, his only friend, you can’t just let him deal with this by himself.

So later that night, after the funeral, you find yourself at the Byers residence. You try and ignore the bright, colorful Christmas lights that embellish the entirety of the house, and quickly hug Joyce before making your way to Jonathan’s room.

You needn’t say anything as you quietly open his door, saying his name softly; only to find him curled up in his bed. His eyes are red and his cheeks are shiny with tears, and the sight alone is enough to make you cry all over again. You just pad over to his bed, and kick off your shoes.

Jonathan just scoots over to make some room, and watches you as you situate yourself next to him. He doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around your torso, pressing his face into your side. You’re quick to wrap your arm around his shoulder, sliding down further into the bed so that you’re properly cuddled into him.

You lie there for what feels like hours, just letting Jonathan cry, shedding tears of your own. It’s a little past one a.m. when he finally falls asleep, with your fingers idly running through his hair.

“It’s going to be okay, Jonathan,” You say, voice just below a whisper. “You’re going to be okay, despite what you think. You’re so, so much more braver than you think.”

And even though you’re not aware that Jonathan isn’t fully asleep — Jonathan takes those words to heart; engraving them into his mind, to remind himself of that when he needs it.